The strong Kazakh-Swedish arbitration bond
On 29 and 30 November, the SCC, together with Mannheimer Swartling and Grata international, held two seminars in Astana and Almaty to commemorate a quarter of a century of efficient and peaceful dispute resolution.
This year, Kazakhstan celebrates 25 years of independence. Over the years, a large number of commercial and investment disputes related to Kazakhstan have been resolved through arbitration in Stockholm.
The diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Sweden was established on 7 April 1992, around six months after Kazakhstan gained independence on 16 December 1991. Since 2001, Kazakh parties have brought 28 disputes to the SCC for resolution, of which 23 were filed after 2005. These disputes have concerned a wide range of industry sectors with a particular focus on energy and natural resources disputes (including oil & gas and mining), and also fostered close ties between the arbitration communities in Sweden and Kazakhstan.
The seminars on 29 and 30 November included presentations on innovative features of the SCC’s proposed new arbitration rules, interactive case studies involving mock SCC arbitration clause negotiations and mock SCC arbitral proceedings, as well as discussions regarding new developments in Kazakh arbitration law.
Speakers included:
- His Excellency Christian Kamill, the Ambassador of Sweden to Kazakhstan
- Annette Magnusson, Secretary General of the SCC
- Jakob Ragnwaldh, Vice Chair of the Board of the SCC and partner at Mannheimer Swartling
- Fredrik Ringquist, partner at Mannheimer Swartling
- Askar Kaldybayev, Executive Director of Arbitration Center of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs of the Republic Kazakhstan
- Aigoul Kenjebayeva, Chair of the Board of the Kazakh Bar Association
- Bakhyt Tukulov, partner at GRATA International, and
- Roman Zykov, Secretary General of the Russian Arbitration Association.
